Ranking 4 Phillies Players Who Performed the Best in May

The Philadelphia Phillies did a complete 180-degree turn in May compared to how they performed in March and April.

They entered May with a 12-19 record, but clawed their way back to the .500 mark by the time the calendar flipped to June. The Phillies went 18-10, performing at a high level under interim head coach Don Mattingly.

There were a lot of players who performed at a high level to help get the team back on track. Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Zack Wheeler all had their moments, but it wasn’t enough to crack this list.

Here are the four Philadelphia players who performed the best in May.

Cristopher Sanchez

A very strong case could be made that Sanchez was not only the best Phillies player in May, but the best player in baseball. At the very least, he was the best pitcher, completing the entire month without allowing a single run.

He is riding a 44.2 inning scoreless streak, taking down the Philadelphia record held by Grover Alexander, who had 41 consecutive scoreless innings in 1911. He is now chasing down the longest streak for a left-handed pitcher and the all-time streak held by Orel Hershiser with 59 in 1988 with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Sanchez made five starts in May, throwing 39 shutout innings with 45 strikeouts and only three walks, giving up 25 hits. The National League Cy Young Award race is going to be historic at this pace.

Brandon Marsh

There may not be a player who is as difficult to defend against as Brandon Marsh. There are only four players in the MLB who opponents have lower success rates against, and he has elite numbers when putting the ball in play.

Batting Average on Balls In Play was considered mostly a luck stat, but Marsh is proving there is a skill to it. And it culminated in an incredible May, where he produced a .333/.378/.456 slash line with one home run, four doubles and two triples.

Marsh led the team with 30 hits, and no one else on the squad had a triple. His batting average and on-base percentage were both best on the team in May.

Jhoan Duran

Having a reliable late-game reliever to shorten the game and close the door on opponents is key to finding success. The Phillies have that with Jhoan Duran, who has been lights out since being acquired from the Minnesota Twins ahead of the trade deadline last year.

In May, he made 11 appearances, which was tied with Jose Alvarado for the third most on the team in the month. Duran threw 11 innings, allowing only two earned runs on seven hits and five walks to go along with 18 strikeouts.

His 14.7 K/9 were the best mark on the team, and he converted seven saves along the way. A 1.63 ERA and 1.09 WHIP will certainly get the job done.

Alec Bohm

Out of the gate, there may not have been a player struggling as much as Alec Bohm. His production at the plate was historically poor, and had Philadelphia had an infield option to turn to full-time, he likely would have been benched.

But, a rest early in the month did him wonders. After sitting out two games, he responded with an 11-game hitting streak. That helped his numbers in the month bounce back, finishing with a .277/.333/.479 slash line.

All three of those stats were in the top three of the team in May, and he had nine extra-base hits. He earned a spot on the list, bouncing back after a tumultuous start; hopefully, he can keep this momentum going.

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